Bellway's lack of bad news cheers investors

The housebuilders are having a field-day despite the lack of an interest rate cut yesterday, which makes a change from the past few months when the sector has been battered.

Bellway, a FTSE 250 housebuilder, is up 72.5p, or 11%, at 721.5p after putting out an update that has not scared investors away - no small feat in current market conditions.

The group says it expects the number of legal completions for the six months to end January to be at a similar level to last year's 3,264 homes, despite the challenging market conditions.

It adds that whilst it is not immune from the general trends in the new homes market, "we are sensibly positioning ourselves to take advantage of any improvements that may occur in the near future."

The group adds it has more than 70% of its revised target for the current year already in place.

Hardly earth-shattering talk, but lack of bad news seems to be extremely well received in the current difficult market conditions.

The housebuilding sector has also been helped by Bovis Homes, which has said its 2007 pre-tax profit will be in line with expectations. This has reassured jittery investors, and shares are up 50.5p, or 10%, at 540.5p.

The group warns that activity in the UK housing market has slowed, and the shorter term outlook is unclear. But it says that the supply and demand dynamic in the UK housing market, and ongoing government support, provides confidence for the longer term.